As I have so many things going on and in the works, I figured I should get around to starting a build thread. This is my VX:
Current mods:
Drivetrain
-5MT conversion
-OEM manual fan delete
-Ron Davis all aluminum radiator w/custom dual electric fans and shroud
Wheels
-Gear Alloy 718B Blackjack 18x9, 6x135/5.50, Offset +18, w/5.71 backside
-285/60/18 Nitto Terra Grapplers
-1.5" spacers
Suspension
-OME 913s springs/torsion bar crank
-Independent4x steering stabilizer
-greaseable sway bar bushings
-ball joint flip
-Independent4x 1/4" ball joint spacers
-1.5" diff drop brackets
Exterior
-LED headlight conversion
-custom Hella MicroDE Xenon conversion
-c/f hood insert
-Weathertech window guards
-Sylvania 6000k 194 LED horn lights
-winch plate and mount
-Curt trailer hitch
-Westin brush guard
-Yakima bike racks
-Yakima Load Warrior roof rack with extension and spare tire clamp
-Trooper 3 pc skid plates
Interior
-custom floor/rear seat/hatch mats
-custom LED interior hatch light
-rear door popper
Upcoming Mods:
-rear tire mount
-Independent4x IFS tie rod ends
Odds n' ends I haven't installed yet, and other things I won't mention
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___
My VX ownership started about 4 years ago @ 77k. I needed a vehicle to get around as my project car at the time was doing more sitting than driving. I wanted one a long time ago, but had forgotten about them, quite frankly. When it came time to start shopping, I remembered my fondness for them, and the rest is history.
This truck was a single owner vehicle for most of it's life. The second owner picked it up to flip, so he had it for 500 or so miles before he sold it to me. It was a clean truck; it had all maintenance records, no accidents, etc. It came with mismatched tires and these growing on the windshield (still can't figure this one out):
It was having an issue with a vacuum leak when I picked it up, so within the first 3 days, I had to tear into the engine. Turns out it was one of the intake manifold gaskets, so I had to pull the intake manifold and get them replaced.
The first year and a half, I didn't do much to the truck, as I was just using it to get back and forth. I rec'd a donated Curt hitch, and played around with the stereo. The stereo needed an upgrade, so I picked up some old-school horn speakers and some 6.5" mid-bass. I stuck the door speakers in, and that's been done before, so it's no big deal. Mounting horns, however, are a pain, as I found out. Steel strapping is the best bet from what I've been able to determine. It takes a lot of fit and refitting to get the straps all in place and the speaker solidly in place. I had to use a few straps, but the results speak for themselves. The speakers don't move, the straps aren't in the way, and there is more than enough room between the speaker and the pedals, even for the manual conversion.
Here's modification of the straps as the speaker was out during one of the test fittings....
And here it is in place....
Installation took a total of about 5 hrs. Around the same time, I found a 3 accessory outlet for ~$20 and picked it up.
My thought was that in could fit in my center console, and once I trimmed it up a bit, it did.
There are 2 screw holes on either side, so I drilled the console and stuck two bolts in there to hold it in place.
Since the truck has no head-unit, instead playing music through a mounted BT headset, I wanted to control the gain on the amp dedicated to the sub so that I don't advertise when I'm close to home, or driving through bad neighborhoods. I did some searching on eBay and found an RCA gain control.
A guy in GA makes them, and I paid $15 for this one. I liked it so much I bought 3 more for $30 shipped. I have one for overall volume control, and the other is for the sub amp. This is what it looks like under the console:
and when it was all said and done, this is the finished product:
I'm a lot more pleased now. The lid closes and there's no clearance issue. Coupled with no more wires running to the cigarette lighter, it was worth the $40 to knock this out.
Reply With Quote